Parents told to keep child's toys out of class

Parents have been warned not to let children bring their Christmas presents to school or they could be confiscated.

Under rules introduced earlier this year, teachers can remove gadgets and toys from pupils if they judge they are disrupting lessons.

While teachers' organisations insist their members will not misuse the law, they expect an increase in confiscations as pupils return after Christmas.

The first few weeks of the new term can see a surge in disruptive behaviour as pupils bring items such as mobile phones and music players into the classroom, according to schools. The problem has increased in recent years as children receive more electronic gadgets as presents.

Of particular concern is the phenomenon of "happy slapping", where children use their mobile phones to record attacks on strangers.

Kevin Brennan, the children's minister, called on parents to make sure that their children did not use their presents during lessons.

He said: "Christmas is great fun and I'm sure, as is the case in my house, children and young people from across the country will be getting a whole range of fascinating gadgets such as mobile phones, handheld consoles and MP3 players.

"However, there is a time and place for them, and learning tools such as calculators aside, the classroom is not that place."

He said it was right that teachers could legally confiscate these items if they feel they are harming pupils' education, but added: "We would rather that parents ensure their children do not use their gadgets in lessons and ideally don't bring them into school at all.

"We are absolutely clear that when it comes to lessons, noisy toys are not acceptable."

Martin Johnson, the deputy general secretary of the Associations of Teachers and Lecturers, said that while his members recognised there was a "time and a place" to play with new toys, the rules marked a "tilt in the balance" in the relationship between teachers and pupils and their parents.

He said: "Our members have felt for a long time that there has been far too much challenging of teachers' authority, something that is coming from society as a whole. This new law gives quite clear backing to teachers over the authority that they do have."

He added: "It could, however, take a long time for the message to get through, particularly to awkward parents."

Teachers' unions welcomed the rules when they became law in April.

Although Ofsted, the education watchdog, reports that the majority of pupils are well behaved and hard working, ministers believe teachers should have the powers to clamp down on the minority who cause trouble in lessons.